Here's a recent pic of the Z in Bentalls. Sell, keep, sell, keep, ... oh i dunno.. its too lovely to go..

 

 

Jim

Last weekend the Wifelet and I spent a couple of quiet chilled out days in the Cotswolds at the Fosse Manor hotel, just outside Stow. The hotel was excellent, we stayed in the four poster bed room and we were very well looked after. We spent Monday visiting Batsford Arboretum & Falconary, Sudeley Castle and the surrounding areas before having a gorgeous dinner at our hotel. Check out some of the pictures in the album on the left.

 

Jim

This is totally brilliant and (sadly) completely true.

 

As spotted on Ebay, some looney has actually modified a Fiat Panda by putting an Escort RS Turbo engine in the boot...

 

But why?

 

Also, check out the description for classic examples of the use of words such as 'fink', belive' and 'worned'.

 

So - the wife's away in Vienna for a few days, living the life of luxury at a works conference whilst I'm left at home to look after the rodent. Still.. its nice to have a little peace and quiet.

 

Check out the link and pics, she's staying in a two floor room - blimey!

 

 

Nice !

 

Midge

We picked up the Z today... love it... (check out the photo album for pics).

 

Been driving most of the weekend.. and I'm starting to get used to the idea now.

 

Although it doesn't quite feel real yet, almost like I have to give it back at the end of the weekend!

 

Jim

 

I popped into the dealership yesterday to drop in some paperwork.. and got a sneaky preview on the new Z !! See the pic below.. can't wait !

 

5 days to go...

 

Jim

As of today I no longer own a car...  In a sad farewell ceremony, the Mondeo was handed over to it's new owner, Jules. Happy motoring buddy!

 

How will I survive without my own transport? Can I really spend the next week blagging lifts, or will I have to ... W-A-L-K...!!!

 

We'll see..

 

Jim

I've just had a call... it's here... now all I have to do is wait another 22 days ...

 

ARRRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!!

 

Jim

 

... in the meantime, this arrived today in it's own little presentation box (just to tease me)...

 

Jim

Oh poo. Still mid-August. Humph.

 

Jm

Paris was fantastic!

 

We took the Eurostar on Saturday afternoon and got into Gard De Nord at about 7pm local time. Nicola managed to blag a couple of tickets to the VIP lounge so we chilled out in comfort and helped ourselves to the free bar before boarding. Sadly, we missed the football, but I think we had a lucky escape in not having to sit through those penalties!

 

As soon as we arrived Nicola was able to try out her French and buy a couple of books of travel tickets for use on the Metro etc. The man seemed to fully understand her, which gave us the confidence to speak French to as many people as we could. We’re convinced that the French people really appreciate you at least trying to speak there language, we found them very friendly and helpful.

 

We travelled south and checked into our hotel, the Villa Lutece Port Royal (about half a mile north of Place D’Italie) which we can highly recommend. Saturday night was spent around Place D’Italie and ended when France beat Brazil in the quarter final. Everyone hit the streets on their mopeds and in their cars, horns blaring and flares being lit from apartment balconies! It was an amazing place to be in at that time and we had no choice but to join in and celebrate with them!

 

Our first stop on Sunday was the Louvre. I cannot express how amazing this place is, I’d have paid up just to see the buildings. The queues were long so we only saw a couple of the main exhibits as we had plenty to see elsewhere. The Venus De Milo is impressive, and the Wedding Feast At Cana is superb, and much bigger than I expected. But the star of the show is the Mona Lisa. I didn’t want it to be too cliché or predicable but as soon as you see that tiny, dark and surprisingly dirty picture all on its own on a massive wall behind toughened glass, the eyes fix you with a stare that gives you this overwhelming urge to walk up to it almost in a trance. It demands respect. Being in the same room as all those people in a similar state feels like being on some sort of pilgrimage. This was without doubt the highlight of the trip.

 

After the Louvre we headed for the Pompidou centre, or as we refer to it now, the ‘Pompi-don’t’. Not because it’s not very good, it’s just that once you’ve seen the building itself and had a little look inside, unless your really interested in seeing an Andy Warhol ‘masterpiece’ then you’re best just to visit the shop, pick out a book of Dali postcards and move on.

 

The Notre Dame was our final tourist destination on Sunday. It’s spectacular both inside and out and full of people lighting candles or praying in little chapels within the main building. I was surprised to see the very modern confessionals. Large open area rooms, sectioned off by partially frosted glass, which meant that all us tourists could quite happily have a good old peek.

 

We got a little tipsy on Rose and beer on Sunday night in the very busy Latin Quarters cobbled streets, off Rue De La Boucherie (with has a cracking little vegetarian restaurant!). Be warned though, it’s very expensive and touristy, but worth it for one night (unless your still in your twenties).

 

Two and half hours are how long it took on Monday afternoon to queue and get up and down the Eiffel Tower. It’s definitely worth it as the structure is stunning and the views of Paris even more so. I bottled it on the 2nd tier which, when hung-over, is high enough for me. Nicola bravely went right to the top.

 

Early evening was spent finding then walking up what seemed like hundreds of steps to visit the Sacre Coeur. This was another highlight of the trip. After battling up the steps to get to the building you then somehow find extra energy to walk up the longest and darkest spiral staircase to get the to viewing area of the dome, before plummeting back down into the crypt to visit the two founders of the building, in person. Well, what’s left of them!

 

A good tip for the day you travel home is to go and buy a couple of fresh baguettes and head to one of Paris’s gardens. We had lunch in the gorgeous Jardin Du Luxembourg before heading back to the Eurostar. We hope to return to it for a proper visit next time we go to Paris, which hopefully won’t be too far away.

 

Top tips for Paris:

 

1) Speak French as much as possible, at least try!
2) Buy a book of 10 travel tickets (carnet) at arrival for use on all Paris public transport (Becky’s top tip)
3) Visit museums on the 1st Sunday of the month when entry is free (but it’ll be busy so go early or late).
4) If the main Louvre entrance is busy (pyramid), use one of the lesser known ones near the arch
5) Visit Sacre Cour at about 5-6pm just before closing at 7, it’ll be less busy – and visit the dome and crypt for only 5 euros.. be prepared to walk up / down LOTS of steps

 

Jim

We're back! Although our tans are fading way too fast..

 

Our wedding day was superb, such a fantastic day from start to finish. The weather held out on us just, it was a little dull and overcast, but it didn't really matter at all. The day flew by. My brother Alan (also my best man) got ready at my parents house (which felt like old times). We arrived at the venue to be whisked away by the registrar to go through all the legal stuff. Then when Nicola arrived we were carefully shuffled around the building so as not to see each other. Military precision no less.

 

Al and I entered the ceremony to cheers and applause, which I think settled both our nerves a fair bit. All our friends and family sat eagerly awaiting the arrival of the bride to be. I hadn't seen the dress before (obviously) and really didn't have a clue what she was going to wear. She was stunning, gorgeous, more beautiful that I'd imagined. I was bowled over, totally. The ceremony was dream-like. The vows went without a hitch, although Nic did get upset a little at one stage (at least I wasn't the first to blub!).

 

After the ceremony we had a welcome drink in the bar room and then made our way outside to the terraced and grounds for some outside photos. As the light started to fade a little, we moved inside to the huge staircase and stain glass window section of the house for more photos. We have both since seen the pictures that Julian took and we're extremely pleased with them all. This was his (and Marc's) first wedding, and he was fantastic, in his element, kept everyone laughing and joking which relaxed us all and really comes across on the photos. Thanks guys!

 

Our guests then had to endure our receiving line into the room where our wedding breakfast was to be held. I think Al enjoyed this the most, but I won't go into details. Yet. :)

 

The wedding breakfast was superb, the food was excellent and everybody seemed to having a cracking time. It was only during the dinner that I realised the wedding favours were nowhere to be seen. This was a bit of a surprise as you can imagine, and once I'd told Al the entire venue staff were frantically running around looking for them. It was during this hectic few minutes that Nicola and I realised that neither of us could ever remember actually bringing the favours to the venue. Ah. Whoops. Much apologising followed. Marc humbly 'volunteered' to go back to our home and pick them up for us. What a star! Not long afterwards, all our guests received our little wedding favour boxes of mini chocolate easters eggs.

 

Over the weeks leading up to the big day, Nic and I would often talk of our speeches in front of our friends and how we would be 60% funnier than each other, etc. A bit of competition to raise the stakes. So it came as a surprise when we both stood up to give a joint speech. It went really well and we were playing off each other like true comedy geniuses (but to be honest with you, I was still at LEAST 60% funnier than Nic).

 

Alan however was 60% funnier than any of us. His best man speech was hilarious. He'd put so much thought into it too and although he embarrased me beyond my darkest nightmares, he did me proud. Cheers bruv. He had the great idea of placing little notebooks on each table before hand and asked the guests to write down their 'fondest memories' of me and any amusing stories that I'd have thought unlikely to have been remembered. Hmmm. Thanks guys! (especially to the Watsons, Riddette (you are in SO much trouble), and to Lisa (very very sweet). :)

 

The we had the cutting of the most fantastic wedding cake ever (huge thanks to my auntie Jackie and uncle Jeff). The evening rolled on and we had a great night and a bit of a boogie. Neil and Steve did a fab job (once again) with their light and sound show (expecially as we changed the last dance literally at the last minute). We can hugely recommend LW Events! The chocolate fountain was a MASSIVE hit (thanks to mum & dad for that) and meant that we did see much of Debs or Hayley for most of the evening!

 

Once the last of the guests had left, the family and the friends who were staying at the venue retired for a sneaky brandy in the lounge. The next day we met up again for breakfast which was a great idea and topped off the wedding really nicely.

 

We were very lucky to receive a bundle of vouchers from our guests and some very thoughtful gifts. Thanks to all. Especially Nic's mum Janet without whom we really wouldn't have had such a perfect day. :)

 

Julian & Mark took an amazing number of photos during the day, and from these we have chosen just under 300 that we will keep as our record of our day. Next we want to pick our most favourite pictures for our official album. Once our families have seen the photos I'll put a few of our favourites up on the space for you all to see! Watch this space.

 

Jim

No, not a reference to the 70's rock group, but the 2 days of shifting my entire life from one side of town to the other. I've finally moved into my new home. With the sale of the flat in it's final stages and with the wedding now 3 weeks away, this was the best weekend to move (unless you ask any of the guys at work - thanks team).

 

The low-point of the weekend, me getting all stressed and gaining the nick-name 'Stroppy Jim', is now way behind me and I'm now happily settled in - thanks to Mum, Dad, Debs and of course, Nicola. Just a few boxes remain to be unpacked. As you can see from the pictures in the album on the left, the highlight for me was having a chance to do 'real mans work' and become 'White Van Man' for the day.

 

Jim

This is an excellent piccie from Jules (our wedding photographer).

 

If anyone can make smelly alley look good, then Jules can!

 

Feel free to leave your comments and memories about this most famous of cut-throughs below.

 

Jim